Sunday, January 16, 2011

Jackie’s Dressing Room

Upon Jacqueline Kennedy’s arrival to the White House in 1961, she sought to transform the president’s house into a house that represented culture and taste…so the restoration process began.


Among the rooms that were transformed were the private quarters of the Kennedy family. Taking a cue from their previous townhouse in Georgetown, Jacqueline wanted to retain that same look for her new bedroom at the White House.

The prominent decorator Sister Parish was initially invited to decorate the private quarters and later, the French designer Stéphane Boudin of Maison Jansen added the French touch on the interiors.

The First Lady's bedroom designed by Sister Parish

As you can see in the image above, the door on the right led to the dressing room, which was transformed by Boudin.

The First Lady's dressing room  designed by Boudin

The bedroom’s blue and white colors were continued in the dressing room, and in order to make a statement and add magic, a trompe l’oeil painting was incorporated to cover the doors of Jackie’s built-in wardrobe closet. The paintings represented images from important moments of Jackie’s life.

  Jansen's trompe l'oeil rendering of the closet

The other side of the dressing room . The trompe l'oeil showcased some images of Jackie's childhood


If you’re a Kennedy enthusiast, TLC will be showing a documentary called Kennedys’ Home Movies on January 30 at 9 PM ET.

Photos 1,2 courtesy of Life magazine
Photo 3 courtesy of John F. Kennedy Library
Photo 4 courtesy of Architectural Digest
Photo 5 courtesy Paul Manno,photography by Jim Frank
Photo 6  courtesy of John F. Kennedy Library

7 comments:

P.Gaye Tapp at Little Augury said...

I must watch that show on the 30th.thanks for the heads up.

Picture of Elegance Blog said...

I'm looking forward to watching the movies...

Teresa Hatfield ~ Splendid Sass said...

I will definitely watch!
Such a gracious lady!
Terea
xoxo

quintessence said...

Oh that trompe l'oeil is just so fabulous. I am marking the show on my calendar!

The Devoted Classicist said...

And the purpose of the folding screen that divides the face of the wonderful cabinet? I have a guess, but surely there is documentation for the curious placement.

Picture of Elegance Blog said...

T.D.Classicist,
The other doors of the closet had mirrored glass inserts,that's why they were hidden behind the screen.

closets Bergen said...

I cannot believe I am reading this post just now. Good thing I was able to watch the show. Indeed, Jacqueline Kennedy was such a gracious lady and very artistic as seen with all the rooms she transformed in the White House. Thank you for this post.

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